Percy Taylor: The Pianist Who Played Through Titanic’s Final Hours
I have been learning about some of the people who were on
board the Titanic, and I wanted to share a little bit about Percy Taylor.
He was born on the 20th of March 1872 in Hackney, London,
into a working family. His father worked as a printer, and Percy grew up in a
world where work mattered. By the 1890s, he had begun to find his way into
music, though it does not seem to have been straightforward. At one point, he
described himself as an accountant.
In 1906, he married Clara Alice Talbot, a music hall
performer. Their relationship may have become strained over time, and music may
have offered both and escape and an identity.
By 1912, he had joined the Titanic as a pianist, this is likely
to have been one of his first jobs at sea. As the ship began to sink on the
15th of April, he stayed with the band as they played.
He tragically died that night and his body never identified.
Do you think music in that moment was more for others, or
for the musicians themselves?
No comments:
Post a Comment